Out Of Time
by Jesus Cheese
Summary: Kara and Alex are the picture perfect model of a close sibling relationship. Ever since childhood, Kara had leaned on Alex, and Alex had leaned right back. How much would both of them need each other when one is hurting? Will they manage to pull through? Rated M for major charactor death.


**Author's Note: So, I had a really tough time writing this one. I wanted to make sure it was just right, capturing the mood and all. I don't want to spoil anything, so without further ado: Out of Time**

" _Alex?" Kara asked._

" _Yeah?" Alex responded from her bed._

" _You…you could've died today," Kara said, unable to keep her voice from breaking._

" _Yeah," Alex responded sadly._

 _She patted her sister's arm softly, hoping to provide comfort._

 _In all honesty, Alex almost drowning was more traumatizing to Kara than it was to her._

" _Alex?" Kara asked again._

" _Yeah, Kara?"_

' _I…I don't know how I could've lived without you," Kara said, her voice breaking even more at the thought._

" _Well," Alex said, pushing herself up from her spot to talk to her baby sister. "I do."_

 _Kara looked at her quizzically, eyes glossy from tears._

" _I know how you could've gone on," Alex explained. "You could've gone on because you're the strongest person I've ever known."_

 _The tears that had been welling up in Kara's eyes spilled over silently, and Alex had to fight to keep her own in._

' _You could've gone on because you are Kara Danvers, and nothing gets in your way. You're too stubborn."_

 _Kara gave a tiny smile._

 _Alex scooted over in her bed and patted the empty spot._

 _She held out her arm for Kara to climb in, and she did._

 _They sat silently like that for a while._

" _Alex?" Kara asked, with her face buried in her sister's side._

" _Yeah, Kara?" Alex responded._

" _Don't do that again."_

 _Alex chuckled softly and stayed silent for a few minutes._

" _I love you, Kara."_

 _But Kara was already gone, having fallen asleep, buried in her sister's warmth._

Alex thought back to the memory as she lay in the same position, her brittle arm wrapped around Kara's still frame.

Alex knew she wasn't asleep, though.

Kara was rubbing soothing circles on Alex's frail hand absentmindedly, gazing at the TV in the dark room.

With great effort, Alex cleared her throat.

Kara looked up, her ponytail tickling Alex's neck.

"Are you thirsty?"

Alex didn't respond.

Kara was used to this, and moved to get her sister water anyways, stopping only when Alex tightened her hold on Kara's side.

Kara waited patiently for Alex to say what she had to say.

"Kara? Do…you remember the…drowning day?"

Kara shivered at the thought, though she was covered in blankets. She wished it wasn't the middle of winter.

"How could I forget?" she asked bleakly in response. "Why?"

"Do you…remember what I said…about moving on?"

Alex cleared her throat again.

Kara didn't answer this time. She didn't like where the conversation was going.

"Ka-"

Alex was cut off by a couching fit that wracked her whole chest and felt like daggers.

Kara helped her drink through a straw.

"I remember, Alex, but we don't…it's not.."

"Stop," Alex said weakly. She collected herself, preparing the harsh statement. Alex knew it would break her sister, but it had to be done. She trusted that Kara would be strong enough to pick up the broken pieces and put herself together. It would take time, but Alex truly believed in Kara's strength. "Kara, I'm dying."

Kara's eyes started to fill.

"Alex, don't say that. Don't you know what the doctor said? He said the most important medicine was hope, so you just gotta-"

"Kara, Stop," Alex persisted. "He said that…when he didn't know…my cancer was…stage 4," she wheezed the last part.

Kara knew this, of course, but it was much easier to pretend like everything was going to be okay.

A few months back, they had gotten the news that it was cancer, and Kara's whole world had come crashing down.

She berated herself senselessly for not noticing it before.

She should've noticed the Advil, which seemed to be disappearing by the bucketful.

The pained grunts.

The loss of appetite.

How Alex was pushing Maggie further and further away.

How she had tried to do the same to Kara.

It took Alex collapsing on her living room floor for Kara to notice that she was sick, and Kara hated herself every single day for it.

It killed her that she had been so careless.

Now, her sister was dying.

She knew it, Alex knew it, the doctors knew it. There was no hope for hopeless cases.

That's what one of the doctors had said outside of Alex's room, not counting on anyone inside to have super hearing.

"Alex, I-"

Kara couldn't finish her sentence.

Sobs wracked her body, built up from all the times she forces tears down.

From all the times she blamed herself for being the savior of the human race but being unable to save the only human on the planet that mattered to her, spending night after night pacing her house and trashing everything in sight.

Alex hugged her sister weakly, shushing softly, just like she would do for Kara when she had nightmares.

Because this, all things considered, was a nightmare.

Alex was dying, and she hated that Kara was going to be left alone.

She hated that J'onn would have to lose another daughter.

Most of all, she hated herself for being too stubborn to seek help in the first place.

So she sat, staring at the gently falling snow, rubbing her sobbing sister's back, hoping to give her some sense of security before Alex died.

Alex was sure she was dying.

The doctor had said before that sometimes, patients just had a _feeling_ that they were going to die.

At the time, it sounded fake, but now, Alex felt it.

It was a warm sensation that spread through her icy body like honey.

She had expected to feel sad, scared, shocked even, but all she felt was calm.

It felt like a comfortable intoxicating bliss.

Before Alex could open her mouth to say goodbye, her eyes closed, and she drifted away.

"I love you, Alex," Kara sobbed, but just as before, nobody else heard her.

She was all alone.

 **Author's Note Part Two: So…That's a tad bit darker than most of my other ones. It's a change of pace, but I really hope you liked it regardless. I haven't tried anything quite like this before. (If I'm going to be honest, I may have teared up a bit proof-reading it.)**

 **So, this is a one shot as of right now.**

 **If someone can find a way for me to continue it that is good enough, I will consider continuing it, but honestly, I sort feel content with it.**

 **I don't want to add more and accidentally ruin it, you know?**

 **Please review. I want to hear some honest opinions on how to improve, what you think I did well. Really, anything. It doesn't even have to be related to the story, honestly.**

 **Tell me what country you're from, what you had for dinner, I don't care. I just like feeling connected with my readers.**

 **Oh, and my PM box is always open.**

 **Goodbye for now!**


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